Page 21 of Falling for the King

‘I won’t be staying long,’ she said slowly, deliberately. ‘I’m going to make this short. Last night was a mistake and I share responsibility for that.’ He kept himself still, hiding his shock with the greatest of efforts to allow her to continue. ‘Let’s forget it happened and never mention it again.’

A howl of denial hovered on his lips although it was exactly as he wanted. An acknowledgement from Katerina that she was okay and didn’t harbour any ill feelings about what had occurred. And now she’d dismissed it, him, without a flicker of an eyelash. He should be delighted, relieved that there was no lasting damage. Unaccountably he wasn’t.

‘You can forget it like it never happened?’ He felt compelled to clarify.

‘Of course, it was just a kiss after all, nothing significant, and it’s best forgotten.’

Nothing significant! It had been to him until he reminded himself trips down memory lane had been barred like any repeat performances. But still was she comparing him to others and finding him lacking? The sickening thought went deeper than ego it unearthed a feeling he didn’t dare name, which felt suspiciously like jealousy, something abhorrent to him. She watched him, waiting for a response, one he was unable to form.

‘The rest that we discussed, well that’s your business and won’t be repeated by me,’ she continued. Business he’d never shared with anyone. Yes, his late wife had known he didn’t love her, she’d known that right from the start. But no-one else had been privy nor pushed him into a conversation like Katerina had last night, which she now waved away with the swish of her hand.

‘Now that’s out of that way what kind of feedback do you want on Serena? I can put something together for you before we head to the airport. Do you want general observations or something in particular?’ she said in a matter-of-fact manner like it was a luncheon menu she was talking about.

‘Nothing at the moment, I’ll let you know when I do and it won’t be so structured,’ he said sounding stiff and formal which was marginally better than revealing his feelings.

‘Will Serena be joining us tonight?’

Tonight there was a ball, another one, and he couldn’t remember, for the life of him, an itinerary ever being so taxing when in reality it was no different to any other tour.

‘No.’

Something flickered behind light blue eyes which he couldn’t quite identify. Relief? Happiness? Something else?

He wouldn’t be seeing Serena in the foreseeable future, not publicly anyway. He would meet with her privately as he should’ve in the first place, he could admit that now. Which is what he’ll do with the others. One of his first emails this morning had been to amend his plans and going forward he would meet five of the women individually and privately. As soon as he gave the word. Getting this right was far too important to be making any more strategic errors. Including the worst one, inviting Katerina back last night for a fireside chat. There would be no more shared confidences and absolutely no more kissing.

‘Right, I’ll see you after breakfast,’ she said.

In an instant she was at the door.

‘Kat!’

She stiffened and stopped with her back to him. Unobserved he took his first full breath since she’d walked in. He allowed his gaze to roam past silvery blonde hair piled high, down the exposed curve of her neck revealing a vulnerability that chipped against an immunity he struggled to hold onto.

‘Are you okay?’ he asked when she failed to respond or move.

Slowly she turned to face him as she wrapped her arms around her waist then dropped them the moment she saw him notice.

‘Yes.’ She stared past him out the windows to the grey morning which no doubt would be cold like every day so far on the tour.

A long pause followed while he resisted the urge to leap across the desk and fold her into his arms.

‘Edgar will be there tonight, I can make apologies for you if you’d prefer not to attend,’ he said the words reluctantly—they weren’t the ones he wanted to say. Those would forever remain unsaid. Edgar was the last person he wanted to bring into the conversation but there would be no time to discuss privately once the official day began and he needed to make sure she still wanted to proceed as planned, especially in light of the news he’d been informed of.

Katerina looked straight at him, anger flashing in her magnificent eyes—an emotion he had no trouble identifying.

‘I have no intention of hiding away, for any reason.’

‘That’s not what I was implying, I don’t want you—’ anywhere near him, ‘—to feel uncomfortable.’

‘We discussed this, his attendance and mine.’ She frowned and her gaze roamed the room before coming back to him. ‘Or has something else happened since then?’

He paused yet as much as he wanted to protect her from this he couldn’t, wouldn’t. ‘Information came in overnight he’s no longer bringing a guest.’

Katerina frowned again, surprise and suspicion crossing her face matching two of the emotions he’d felt when he’d read the email this morning, along with a bone rattling fury. Because even between wives Edgar never attended the joint fundraising ball, for a renowned international aid agency, without a companion.

Both Kings attended the ball without fail, a tradition that had started at the time of the peace treaty. Katerina had attended each year since her marriage except for last year as it was not long after Max’s funeral. Tonight, the ball was being held in Begta, the town closest to their shared border on the Maynetian side.

Last year Edgar had offered, in a private conversation with Xavier, for Katerina’s hand at the end of this very event. Xavier had been shocked, sickened. Max had barely been buried and already Edgar was making a play for a member of his family, a newly minted widow decades younger than himself. He’d also brought a woman young enough to be his granddaughter to the ball with him. Now it cut deeper than that, Xavier didn’t want Edgar anywhere near her. Ever.